That's very sweet Tina! Back at ya. ;-)

* Hugs! * Hugs! * Hugs! *

Hugs are fat-free, sugar-free, and require no batteries.
Hugs reduce blood pressure, body temperature,
and relieve pain and depression.
Hugs brighten the day and lighten the heart!

It's much, much worse to be very (unexpectedly) successful with the band, and having to hear that you're:

1. a liar

2. filling people with false hope

It's one of the reasons I rarely have posted lately. I can't even be bothered with posting "B*TCHFest", and that is supposed to do nothing but HELP people. 

It is astonishing to me how far into **** this forum, and OH in general, has fallen.

 Oh! I almost forget one:

3. constantly having to defend MY choice of WLS procedures, and why the band was right for ME. Some dumb *****es (one who likes to to refer to everyone ELSE as "illiterate", "reading-impaired", etc. and her sheeple) just don't get that not EVERYONE wants their guts torn up, half to 3/4s of their stomach removed and/or their intestines severed and reattached, and refuse to accept that each of us must make the choice that is right for US, not the choice THEY think (decree) is the correct one.

 YIKES, who would ever say you are a liar or filling people with false hope? If there has ever been a bandster that has been completely honest about the ups AND downs of having a band, it's YOU! You have never sugar coated anything about your complications or success! 

Tripmom, believe me both Bette and I have! I have been called a liar, a troll, accused of inventing facts, told that my weight loss hadn't actually happened, told I was the sort of person who gives bandsters a bad name, accused of sending abusive e mails!

But Bette and I have met! I vouch for her skinniness and she can vouch for mine!

Kate

 That's so sad, I have always enjoyed both yours and Bette's posts, and you both seem like the most sincere people around! You where both very kind to me when I was having my complciations (unlike some others) and this board would not be the same without you guys!

 Let's just say that she's pretty much the leader of the usual suspects.

I'm a liar because I was never really almost 400 pounds. (I was 376.)
I'm a liar because I couldn't possibly have lose 100 pounds in 6 months with a BAND.
I'm a liar because I couldn't possibly have lost 150 pounds in a year with a BAND.
I'm a liar because I couldn't possibly have lost 200 pounds in 18 months with a BAND.

I'm a "militant bandster", whatever the **** THAT is.

I "give people false hope", because NO ONE ever does well with the band. I guess I am supposed to be the only one. I guess Time-Life books will be writing about me soon, as will Ripley's Believe It or Not.

Oh, let's see. What else?

I only lost weight with the band because I kept it so tight that I can't eat solid food. Ah, if only that were true. But then again, I wouldn't be able to enjoy the loves of my life, chocolate and bacon. BTW- DSers are NOT the only ones who can eat bacon. Or cheese, or anything else with fat in it. I love real-fat foods. I just don't have a physiological or psychological need to eat a pound of them.

Oh! And according to Princess Na-Blow-Me, I lost all the weight because I vomited constantly for the past almost-8 years.

i agree with bette b i stated that i think of my band as a tool and i was told very quickly how wrong they thought i was.....but i still love my band

When I was a year out, I liked my band, too.  But I didn't get to stay in that mode.  

You shouldn't feel guilty that you made a choice that is working for you. 

Thank you, Sue.  As a successful-bander-so-far, I appreciate your comment.